Improvement in regenerating apparatus for heating-furnaces



M e In S s t e e I" S 3 S on E L L E S H G improvement in Regenerating A No.

pparatus for Heating Furnaces.

Patented July 16, 1872,

INVENTOR.

WITNESSES.

A; M fimw ei 3 Sheets--Sheet 2.

G. H. SELLERS. Improvement in Regenerating Apparatus for Heating Furnaces.

' Patented July 16, 1872. FIG- 5 K WHY A M, Mm/ k H. m. A.

3Sheets--Sheet3. G. H. SELLERS.

Improvement in Regenerating Apparatus for Heating Furnaces. No. 129,428. Patented July 16, 1872.

WITNESSES. INVENTOR;

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

GEORGE H. SELLERS, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 129,428, dated July 16, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itlrnown that I, GEORGE H. SELLERS, of Wilmington, in the county of Newcastle and State of Delaware, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Regenerative Apparatus for the use of Gaseous Fuel.

My invention consists in certain improvements in the apparatus for regenerating heat, described in the application for Letters Patent filed by William Sellers, of Philadelphia, simultaneously with the filing of this application.

In the regenerative apparatus of said William Sellers the air and the gas which constitute the fuel are respectively led through separate chambers and over successive series of pipes, through which pipes the waste products of combustion pass on their way to the gas passing through their respective chambers and over these pipes on their way to the furnace. The gas is supplied from a gas-producer, and passed from this through the gaschamber in the regenerative apparatus to the place of combustion, under pressure, while the air in the air-chamber of the regenerative apparatus, until heated, has no tendency to move toward the place of combustion, being simply in equilz'bm'o with the external air, and consequently inert. Under these conditions, and until the furnace has become heated, the tendency of the gas after reaching the place of combustion, at which it should meet the air, is to descend the air-flue of the regenerative apparatus, gradually displacing the inert air in the air-chamber, and forming therein a compound liable to explode upon the gas being'ignited at the place of combustion.

It is the object of the first part of my invention to obviate the liability to these objectionable incidents to the starting of the furnace, and I accomplish this object by making provision for such a preliminary heating of the air in the air-chamber of the regenerative apparatus as will overcome its inertia, and give it such a commensurate impulse toward the point of combustion that it may meet the gas at the proper moment and at the proper place, thus preventing the descent of the gas, and, of course, obviating the danger of explosion above referred to.

Again, in the regenerative apparatus of the and give off their heat to the air and said William Sellers, as, in the theretofore 'state of the art, the respective currents of air and gas had always been brought to the place of combustion, and introduced into the furnace upon parallel lines, the particles of air and gas were thus not thoroughly commingled, and by reason of this fact the combustion at the point of their conjunction was only partial, and the flame swept. through the furnace toward the chimney accompanied by unconsumed air and gas, thereby detracting from the degree of heat which would have been developed by a more perfect combustion of the same fuel.

It is the object of the second part of my invention to attain a more perfect combustion of the gaseous fuel than heretofore; and to this end my improvements further consist in bringing together its constituents, the air and the gas, at the place of combustion, from oppositedirections and against each other, instead of in parallel lines, as heretofore, so that the concussive action of the meeting currents will thoroughly commingle the air and gas at that point.

The intense heat to which the brick-work in the regenerative apparatus of furnaces is subjected induces such unusual degrees of expansion as to require special provision to counteract this disturbing element, and the third part of my invention consists of an improved construction of the chambers composing the regenerative apparatus with reference to this requirement. In regenerative-furnaces, as heretofore constructed, an accumulation of tar in the gas-regenerative chamber may result from theuse of certain fuels, and no adequate provision has been made for removing the same. It is the object of the fourth part of my in= ratus simple and convenient means by which any such tarry accumulation maybe consumed. While, as preliminarily stated herein, these several features of my invention have been devised by me in connection with, and are specially adapted to the regenerative apparatus of said William Sellers, yet their application is so obvious, and their adaptation so simple, and so entirely within the common skill'of a constructor of regenerative apparatus, that I'do not confine myself to the application of these improvements to the above-mentioned vention to provide in the regenerative appa,

Sellers system of regenerative apparatus, but claim them, whether used therein or in the Siemens system.

The accompanying drawing,whichformspart of this specification, represents the regenerative apparatus of said Villiam Sellers with my improvements introduced therein, as aboverecited, and with the improved paddling-machine recently patented to said William Sellers, combined with his said regenerative apparatus- Figure 1 presenting a sectional view on line a b, Fig. 4. Fig. 2 is a plan of the paddlingmachine and fines. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 0 d, Fig. 1, of the regenerative apparatus, showing the fines leading the air and gas therefrom to the furnace, and the return flue for conducting the prodnets of combustion from the furnace to the regenerative apparatus. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of the regenerative apparatus on the line 0 f, Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a vertical section at the line 9 h, Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a vertical section at the line is, Fig. 5.

For the general characteristics of the construction and operation of the regenerative apparatus it is only necessary again to refer to the description thereof, contained in the application of WVilliam Sellers, already mentioned. For the purposes of this specification I need only further describe the first part of my invention with reference to Figs. 4, 5, and 7. E Figs. 5 and 7, represents the valve which controls the admission of the air to be heated in the air-chamber of the regenerative apparatuson its way to the point of combustion S, Fig. 4, where it should meet the gas, as hereinafter more fully described. E Figs. 5 and 7, represents the air-flue, from which the air passes through the openings 0 c, Fig. 5, to the air-chamber. A door, E Figs. 5 and 7, located, in this instance, at the outer end of the flue E admits of the introduction of fuel, and its ignition within the flue for the purpose of heating the flue and the air within it. Of course, heat derived from any other urce may be introduced into this flue for the purposes described instead of the fuel mentioned.

The products of the combustion thus gener- I ated in the flue IE will pass with the air through the openings 0 0 into the air'chamber B, grad-- ually warming it, thus overcoming the inertia of the air and inducing a movement through the flues E and G, creating a current and a consequent resistance to the tendency of the gas coming under pressure over from the chamber A to pass the point of combustion S and descend the air-flue G.

The second part of my invention may be described with reference only to Figs. 4 and5.

At the point of combustion where the flame enters the furnace, an opening, S, connects with two flues, F, from the gas-chamber, and G iroln the air-chamber, these fines F and G being so arranged relatively to each other and to the opening S that the current of air and the current of gas on their way to the furnace meet at the opening with an abutting force, whereby the currents are intimately commingled at this point of combustion, and enter. the furnace through this opening S not, as heretofore, on parallel lines and partially unignited, but with a more active and more thorough combustion, theresult of their concussion' and attendant thorough comminglingr The products of combustion leave the furnace through the flue T, which conducts them to the regenerative apparatus, as fully described in said William Sellers application before referred to.

, The third part of my invention may be de-- scribed with reference only to Figs. 1 and 4.

I discovered that by reason of the" extraordinary temperatures attained in the operation of the regenerative apparatus of the said Wil- V lialn Sellers, a special provision was required to prevent derangement of the brick-work such as would detract from the efficiency of the regenerative apparatus. As heretofore constructed, the walls inclosing the apparatus being rectangular, the arch or arches covering the air and gas chambers sprang from the side wallsand covered the dividing intermediate Walls, and for the reception of these intermediate walls recesses were provided on theunder side of the arch or arches, so that the vertical subdivisions of the chambers were corn-- plete, but with the expansion and contraction incident to the operation of the apparatus, the

arch and the dividing-walls would change their relative positions to an extent which permitted the escape between the dividing-walls and the arch from one subdivision to another of the air and the gas, which thus coming prematurely in contact, were liable to ignite in the chamber instead of passing separately to the proper point of combustion, obviously to the detriment, not only of the process, but of the apparatus. Moreover, this expansion and contraction being unequal at different points in the length of the arch by reason of the difference of temperature at these different points the arch itself was liable to crack, so as to permit the escape of the air and gas from the chambers into the atmosphere.

To prevent these displacements and this distortion, this third feature of my invention consists in combining with each of the chambers formed by the vertical subdivision of the regenerative apparatus a separate arch, each arch springing from the side walls of the regenerative apparatus, but extending longitudinally only from one dividing-wall to another, but' not connected with these dividing-walls, and these dividing-walls, as Well as the end and side walls, being, by preference, respectively carried above the crowns of the arches for a purpose presently described. By this mode of construction the expansion and contraction of each wall and of each arch are independent of and unaiiected by that of the others. Inas much, however, as the dividing-walls and the arches are not connected, but merely touch each other, and as they must still expand and contract with the changes of temperature in the regenerative apparatus, I prevent the escape of air or gas at their lines of contact by filling the space between the walls with sand. The fourth part of my invention may be described with reference only to Figs. 5 and 6. Should the gas employed be derived from such fuel that it will deposit tar upon the pipes in the gas-chamber, it is obvious that its accumulation would, in time, materially contract the spaces through which the gas must pass on its way to the point of combustion, thereby impairing the sufficiency of the supply. My provision against this contingency consists in combining with the gas-flue 0 Figs. 5 and 6, from which the gas passes through the openings a a, a door or valve, Z, Fig. 5. By closing the damper D so as to stop the flow of gas to the gas-chamber, and then opening the door Z so as to admit air, and, if necessary, to introduce flame, the tar will be ignited, and the products of this combustion will pass off through the furnace, leaving the pipes clean.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In aheat-regenerative apparatus, the combination, with the air-chamber, of means for preliminarily heating the air in this chamber, for the purposes described.

2. In aheat-regenerativeapparatus, the com bination, with the opening into the furnace, of a gas-flue and an air-flue, by which flues the air and gas are brought to said opening from opposite directions, so that at said opening they abut against each other, substantially as described.

3. In a heat-regenerative apparatus, a chamber formed by four vertical walls and an arch, the arch resting upon and being connected with two of the walls, and interposed between but not connected with the other two walls, as and for the purposes described.

4. In aheat-regenerative apparatus, the combination, with a chamber formed by four vertical walls and an arch, the arch resting upon and being-connected with two of the walls, and interposed between but not connected with the other twowalls, of a sand packing or its equivalent, for the purposes described.

5. In aheat-regenerative apparatus, the combination, with the valve D and the gas-chamher A, of the door Z or its equivalent, for the purposes described.

GEO. H. SELLERS.

Witnesses:

J. SNOWDEN BELL, JNo. H. HOGAN. 

